Basic usage:

{{glossary}}
{{term|1=term}}
{{defn}}
{{glossary end}}

Inline templates, reference citations, wikimarkup styles, etc., can be applied to the term in the second parameter (|content= or |2=) as long as it remains without markup in the first parameter (|term= or |1=). Technically, the explicit parameter names are optional if the term or content does not contain the "=" character, but as any editors can add material, including templates or URLs with this character in them, it is always safest to explicitly name or number the parameters.

• This will work: {{term|term=E=MC²}}
• This will work: {{term|1=E=MC²}}
• This will fail: {{term|E=MC²}}

More complex usage is typically:

or

or

If the second or |content= parameter is styled with wikimarkup, linked, or otherwise altered inside the template, the term must also be retained in unstyled form as the first or |term= parameter. Failing to do so will cause the template to malfunction, since it must have a "clean" term name to use as the id of the element, for linking purposes, among other reasons. The order intentionally mirrors that of piped wikilinking ([[title|styled]]).

• Correct: {{term|1=esprit de corps|2=''esprit de corps''}}
• Wrong: {{term|1=''esprit de corps''}}

Style cannot be applied around the template, either, as it is a container for content (the term), not content itself (and doing so will produce invalid markup that will have unpredictable results depending upon browser):

• Wrong: ''{{term|1=esprit de corps}}''

For the same reasons that links to other pages are discouraged in headings, links are discouraged in glossary terms:

• Deprecated: {{term|1=esprit de corps|2=''[[esprit de corps]]''}}
• Preferred: {{term|1=esprit de corps|2=''esprit de corps''}}, and use of a {{ghat}} hatnote in the {{defn}} definition to link to the main article Esprit de corps.

Again, as with the first parameter (the term) itself, if the "=" character (equals sign) is used in the content of this second parameter, the syntax requires that the parameter be explicitly specified (and because many URLs, e.g. in reference citations, can contain this character, it is always safest to number or name the parameters):

numbered:

or named:

{{term}} automatically creates a link anchor point (an HTML id) from an all-lowercase conversion of the original term (|term= or |1=) or |id=. About 90% of the links to glossary entries are going to be mid-sentence, and thus will start with a lower-case letter, except for proper names. The {{glossary link}} template (and its derivatives like {{cuegloss}}) will auto-lowercase any input they're given as a link target for you. So, the only catch is if you manually create a link like [[Glossary of American political jargon#Democratic Party|Democratic Party]] and do not lower-case the #Democratic Party part. Thus, you should use {{glossary link}}.

If your glossary has an unusual case in which one entry and another share the exact same name except for case (thus would get the same lower-cased HTML id), then the upper-case one must be given a unique |id= value, and prevented from conflicting with the lower-case one's HTML id. This can be done by changing its |id= to a variant (e.g. with a number), then manually injecting a second HTML id (with upper-case) by using the |content= parameter and an anchor template:

  {{term|term=foo}}
  {{defn|Definition of lower-case version here ...
  {{term|term=Foo |id=Foo_2 |content={{vanchor|Foo}} }}
  {{defn|Definition of proper-name version here ...

You can then link to them as #foo and #Foo, respectively. (Technically the second can also be addressed as #foo_2, which will have been lower-cased by the template code, but this would not be very intuitive and is just an artifact of the work-around.)

The template {{anchor}} can also be used in the |content= a.k.a. |2= parameter, e.g. to provide the plural of the term (the most common usage), an alternative spelling, the old name of an entry that was linked to but has since changed, or a shortcut link anchor name.

As with styled terms, the first parameter must be used to provide the "bare" term, the second to provide this extra markup. It is not necessary to add the term itself to the {{anchor}} template when using {{term}}:

Two or more {{terms}} can be used for synonyms with a shared definition, though keep in mind that people looking for one and not finding it where they expect it to be alphabetized are liable to assume it is missing if you do not create a cross-reference entry. The parameter |multi=y is used on second and subsequent terms to visually group the terms close together so it is clear that they share a definition:

|multi=y is deprecated. With the use of TemplateStyles, successive {{term}}s will be automatically visually grouped close together. This helps the glossary templates {{term}} and {{defn}} more closely adhere to the semantics of HTML <dt> and <dd> tags.

The following example demonstrates that using the |multi=y parameter has no longer has any effect on the rendered output (because it is now the default behavior):

{{term|1=aspirin}}
{{defn|1=A mild analgesic of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) family...}}
{{term|1=heroin}}
{{term|1=diacetylmorphine |multi=y}}
{{term|1=diamorpine |multi=y}}
{{defn|1=A synthetic narcotic drug of the opiate family...}}
{{term|1=ranitidine}}
{{defn|1=An antacid of the proton pump inhibitor family...}}

To indicate the language of a non-English term, use the {{lang}} template and the ISO 639 language codes as documented at that template:

This shows no visual change for most languages:

For all non-English languages this provides many metadata features, but it is essential for those that do not use the Latin alphabet, so that the content displays properly in various browsers.

If it is useful to indicate the name of the language, there are individual templates for most languages, with names based on the ISO codes, and which automatically italicize the foreign content:

which renders as:

When two or more language variants of a term share the same definition:

As detailed above, two or more terms, as variations or alternatives, can share definitions. The most common use case for this is presenting the term in two variants of English. Example:

{{term|1=tyre|content={{langx|en-GB|tyre}} }}
{{term|1=tire|content={{langx|en-US|tire}}}}
{{defn|1=A resilient wheel covering, usually made of vulcanized rubber.}}

Result:

In a different format, more appropriate for alphabetical glossaries:

{{term|1=tire|content={{lang|en-US|tire}} {{small|([[American English]])}} }}
{{term|1=tyre|content={{lang|en-GB|tyre}} {{small|([[British English]])}} }}
{{defn|1=A resilient wheel covering, usually made of vulcanized rubber.}}

Result:

That example uses the {{Lang}} template with language codes as the first parameter, rather than the {{lang-xx}} templates.

The {{Term}} template has no |lang= parameter of its own (and shouldn't – there are too many pitfalls).

The |style= parameter will pass CSS styling on to the <dt> element, e.g. |style=font-family:serif;. I.e., this styles the term itself, not the definitions of it, other term entries, or the glossary as a whole. This feature is uncommonly but sometimes importantly needed in articles (usually for formatting the appearance of an specific entry for some reason, e.g. certain mathematical constants and the like that are always given in a serif font). It can also be useful outside of articles, for things like matching custom projectpage or userpage style.

The |noid= parameter, if given as true / y / yes, will suppress generation of the id field entirely. This is usually undesirable, except in the case where the anchor |text= of the generated |term= is to another {{Term}} defined in the article.

The |class= parameter will pass one or more space-separated CSS classes on to the <dt> element. There is rarely any reason to do this, especially in mainspace.

Note: With the use of TemplateStyles in the enclosing {{glossary}} (which generates the HTML <dl class="glossary"> tag), this template no longer includes the glossary class by default.

This shows both a very simple then a rather complex instance:

==A–M==

{{glossary}}

{{term|1=applesnorkel}}
{{defn|1=Definition of term 1.}}

{{term|term=arglefarst |content={{lang|xx|arglefarst}}{{anchor|argle-farst|argle farst}} }}
{{defn|no=1 |defn=
Beginning of first definition of term 2
{{quote|1=Block quotation in first definition of term 2.}}
Conclusion of first definition of term 2.
}}
{{defn|no=2 |defn=Second definition of term 2.}}

{{glossary end}}

Images, hatnotes and other "add-in" content intended to immediately follow the {{term}} must be used at the top of (inside) the first {{defn}} of the {{term}}. They cannot be placed between the {{term}} and {{defn}} or it will break the glossary markup. Images can, of course, be placed elsewhere within the {{defn}}, and bottom-notes like {{more}} can be placed at the end of, but inside, a {{defn}}. When used with a multi-definition term, the definition in which the {{ghat}} appears must be manually numbered (usually 1  ..., as shown in the example below).

{{glossary}}
{{term|1=colour ball |content=colour ball {{anchor|coloured ball|coloured balls|colour|colours|color ball}} }}
{{defn|1= [[File:Set of Snookerballs.png|thumb|right|150px|A complete set of snooker balls, with six '''colour balls''']]
{{ghat|Also '''coloured ball(s)''', '''colour(s)'''; American spelling '''color''' sometimes also used.}}
1.  In [[snooker]], any of the {{cuegloss|object ball|object balls}} that are not {{cuegloss|red ball|reds}}.
}}
{{defn|no=2 |1= In [[Blackball (pool)|blackball]], a generic, collective term for the red and yellow {{cuegloss|group|groups}} of object balls.
}}
{{glossary end}}

What this template does on the technical level is wrap the term in the <dfn>...</dfn> HTML element to semantically mark the term as the defining instance on the page of the defined term, and puts this marked-up content inside a <dt>...</dt> term element of a <dl>...</dl> description list (a.k.a. definition list, association list; the list is generated by the {{glossary}} and {{glossary end}} templates), and gives CSS class="glossary" to the <dt> element. That class isn't doing anything yet, but it could later, like a slight font size increase.

Do not specify a null ID (such as id=<!-- no ID -->). Empty or null id HTML parameters produce invalid HTML5 output.

• {{glossary}} a.k.a. {{glossary start}} or {{glossary begin}} – Half of a template pair; uses <dl> with a class to open the structured glossary definition list that {{glossary end}} closes.
• {{glossary end}} – The other half of this template pair; uses </dl> to close the definition list that {{glossary}} opens.
• {{term}} – The glossary term to which the {{defn}} definition applies; a customized <dt> with a class and an embedded <dfn>.
• {{defn}} – The definition that applies to the {{term}}; uses <dd> with a class
• {{ghat}} – a hatnote template properly formatted for the top of a {{defn}} definition
• {{glossary link}} – meta-template for creating shortcut templates for linking to definitions in specific glossaries
• Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Glossaries